help maintain a corrola

[polg20]

ok so i havent driven my wifes 2005 autotragic corrola S in like a year and a half and all the sudden shes @ 60k. last service i did was at 35 which was belts and plugs breaks and whatever else toyota dealership did. she had been doing regular oil changes
i just went to get the oil changed since i refuse to do it when its 110 outside.
the mechanic told me i need to flush the tranny, flush the PS fluid , clean the fuel system.

ok ive flushed Ps fliud before on my p11, i used the turkey baster suck refill turn the steering wheel repeat till it comes out clean, can i do the same on the rolla? or do you guys know better systems?
about a tranny flush? can i just drain and refill? what do you guys recommend? how about the fual system? i know nissan doesnt recommend any cleaners? how abt toyotas?
what kind of spark plugs do you guys use?
should i do the fuel filter?
thanks in advance guys, i know search search but i have very limited online access.

[Exage]

hey plog20.

The method you described for the Power steering will work!

Transmission: yes you can drain and refill. I don't have a automatic so I don't know if you need to drop the pan and replace a filter. Can someone verify?

Fuel system: You could put something in there like a fuel system cleaner, but really I would think that's up to you.

Spark plugs: Doesn't need changing at this time. They are Iridium Spark Plugs and good for 120,000miles.

Fuel filter: Doesn't need changing at this time.

[JasonA]

Yeah, the plugs don't need changing until well past 100,000 miles. The fuel filter is integral to the fuel pump and needs no replacement. The transmission can be drained and refilled; that's all I'd do. I wouldn't pay anyone to flush anything. The turkey baster method works just fine on the PS system. Simply drain the transmission fluid and refill. I think these automatics have a metal screen that you can clean, but no conventional filter. I don't have an auto, so I'm not sure on that.

Dealers love to sell flushes. Don't bite on those. They're not recommended by Toyota, and not necessary.

[richkcmo]

Originally Posted by JasonA

Dealers love to sell flushes. Don't bite on those. They're not recommended by Toyota, and not necessary.

I agree with JasonA

[deja_vu1344]

I would go ahead and change the Air filter and Cabin filter as well since you are at 60k.

[polg20]

thanks a lot for replies
im still gonna wait for a reply on the tranny fluid recommendation
i use redline in my gearbox, but i drive with a clutch
the cabin filter was so nasty i told the mechanic to throw it away, he wanted 30 $ ,ha ordered one on ebay for 10 shipped.
plugs good for 120K???
is it worth keeping them so long? i mean theyre super cheap and the gas milage might improve??

airbox filter? wasnt so nasty ,but im considering getting a K&N insert. are those anygood for dusty AZ?how bad is actually cleaning and oiling it?i run AEm dryflo so no oils involved but wife doesnt want to mod her ride.

[polg20]

thanks a lot for replies
im still gonna wait for a reply on the tranny fluid recommendation
i use redline in my gearbox, but i drive with a clutch
the cabin filter was so nasty i told the mechanic to throw it away, he wanted 30 $ ,ha ordered one on ebay for 10 shipped.
plugs good for 120K???
is it worth keeping them so long? i mean theyre super cheap and the gas milage might improve??

airbox filter? wasnt so nasty ,but im considering getting a K&N insert. are those anygood for dusty AZ?how bad is actually cleaning and oiling it?i run AEm dryflo so no oils involved but wife doesnt want a CAI.

[JasonA]

Originally Posted by polg20

plugs good for 120K???
is it worth keeping them so long? i mean theyre super cheap and the gas milage might improve??

There's not a whole lot of point in replacing the plugs sooner. If you get the correct plug, they're not all that cheap. They're iridium plugs, and close to $10 per plug. Changing them out every 30,000 miles won't hurt anything, but you're certainly not saving any money either. You won't get any better fuel economy either. Modern plugs last a LONG time.

Originally Posted by polg20

airbox filter? wasnt so nasty ,but im considering getting a K&N insert. are those anygood for dusty AZ?how bad is actually cleaning and oiling it?i run AEm dryflo so no oils involved but wife doesnt want to mod her ride.

At least three different objective tests available out there demonstrate a rather poor filtering capability of the K&N filters. Almost all of them demonstrate a lower pressure drop as well, indicating a higher potential flow. The trade-off is fairly clear, whether you use the filter or not is your choice. I've not seen any testing on the AEM Dryflow filters. I'd much prefer those, since you're not relying on an oil bath to filter the air. That technology went out of favor in, what, 1945 (for light duty applications like this)?

The OEM Toyota/Denso filter is about as good as you're going to get for filtering performance, and is available at a good price from the Toyota dealer (about 12 bucks as I recall).

[polg20]

if toyota sells filters for 12 $ i will buy OEM,
another thing i noticed is the tire pressure thing, the light on the dash is on, i will press to reset and it will come one in like 5 minutes, all tires @ 35 psi
are those faulty??

[Exage]

Tires are supposed to be 30psi cold for CE, LE, S models, 32psi for XRS. So your sensor might think that it's the wrong pressure.

[NMGeorge]

Question here...

Why mess with the PS fluid? In all my years driving and working on my own cars, it is something I have never done. It's also an area that has never failed me in any respect. (knocks on wood).

[polg20]

Ps fluid like any other fluid will start to absord water and loose its lubing effect. i will take a sample out and check the condition before i start the process since you cant trust 100% the tech at a gas station oil change place saying its bad. Will buy a bottle from toyota and compare, if there is any discoloration, im going ahead and do my ghetto flush
Will change the tires to 30psi and see if it goes away.
Still waiting on ATF recommendation till sat beforei go to Toyota to buy couple stuff.
thanks guys!!